GT Academy 2013

This weekend, at the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours, two former GT Academy Champions, Lucas Ordoñez and Jann Mardenborough, both raced in a Nissan-powered LMP2 car recording an impressive 4th place finish in class. Ordoñez and Mardenborough are among the elite band of Nismo Athletes who have successfully challenged the traditional route into motorsport as graduates of GT Academy – a unique collaboration that leverages the virtual world of the Gran Turismo game to unearth real-world racing talent for Nissan’s race team.

GT Academy 2013

GT Academy 2013, the biggest competition in its history, will officially kick off with qualifications starting Tuesday, July 2, and ending Sunday, July 28, at 3:59 p.m. PST. The only way to qualify is by downloading the demo for PlayStation 3 and racing for the best qualifying times to advance to National Finals, where they’ll compete for a place in the Silverstone race camp to determine one ultimate winner from each country. This year, the stakes are even higher as players will get on the testing grounds with a new demo from the unreleased Gran Turismo 6 game for PlayStation 3, giving fans around the world a sneak peek into the biggest racing game of the year.

The demo will remain available to play even after the competition concludes until Aug. 31 and is open to all Gran Turismo fans, including gamers who do not wish to enter the 2013 GT Academy contest.

Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the Gran Turismo series, has set an interesting challenge for Gran Turismo entrants featuring stunningly re-created Nissan cars including the Leaf, 370Z and GT-R. The GT6 demo will guide players through beginner rounds of a GT Academy-themed race camp before unlocking the final qualifying event featuring the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit, making GT Academy equally accessible to Gran Turismo novices and experts alike. Anyone who registers and submits a qualifying time will receive free bonus content.

GT Academy 2013

GT Academy in the United States, along with Russia and Germany, will each have standalone qualifying contests to designate the countries’ top Gran Turismo drivers. Europe’s 2013 Academy includes France, Italy, UK, Spain, Portugal, Benelux, Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway) and CEE (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia). The winners of each of the GT Academy competitions will then be put through an incredibly intensive and thorough Driver Development Program, rated among the best in the world, in order to qualify for the ultimate competition prize – a full season racing a Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO in a top-level championship.

“GT Academy is testament to why Gran Turismo is the true racing simulator,” said Asad Qizilbash, senior director of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America. “The PlayStation community has proven time and time again that Gran Turismo’s racing mechanics translate to the real world of race car driving, with racers who first cut their teeth racing in Gran Turismo now competing on the world stage. We encourage gamers of all skill levels to enter the contest, not just to be among the first to play Gran Turismo 6, but also for a chance to turn their driving passion into a career in the race world.”

The innovative partnership between Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment has attracted more than two million entrants since its inception in 2008, and has developed a number of successful racing drivers now competing for Nissan in top-level international motor sport.

GT Academy 2013

“At the weekend, two former winners of GT Academy lined up in the Nissan-powered Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan LMP2 car to compete in arguably the greatest race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, said Darren Cox, director of global motorsport at Nissan. “Their impressive 4th-place finish shows the phenomenal success of the GT Academy program and its world class Driver Development Program. There is no clearer demonstration of why it is worth entering GT Academy, as it could be you next. Even if you don’t make it that far, there is no harm in dreaming and racing some lovely Nissan cars in the GT6 demo.”

Eligible entrants within the participating countries will need a Sony Entertainment Network account and access to a PlayStation 3 connected to the internet. They can download the free qualifying GT6 demo from the PlayStation Store, with no ownership of the Gran Turismo game required. People without a PS3 can enter the competition via a series of GT Academy Live Events that will be promoted by PlayStation and Nissan locally.

Doesn't look like it. Sucks for all the guys north of the border but it's more likely that's I t has to do with Canadian laws than PD. With all the countries that are involved it would be pointless to keep Canada out just because it's Canada.

Doesn't look like it. Sucks for all the guys north of the border but it's more likely that's I t has to do with Canadian laws than PD. With all the countries that are involved it would be pointless to keep Canada out just because it's Canada.

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Don't want to voice any negative opinion on what is a great thing that Sony and Nissan do...but it's just too darn bad that our brothers north of the border can't compete:sAng_banghead2:

I 2nd that motion rmk, JK keep it up homie, we are all rooting for you and i see an old friend Z06fun up there as well. GO get'm Gents. i cant get better then a 22 so far but i'll be darned if i dont get to a 21 but the end of this competition. Personal goal to be in the top 1000 (regional)

BTW - you are a big reason why I am where I currently stand. I had a self-competition against you to make sure I stayed ahead of you in the rankings. :sHa_biggrin:
Every time you beat my time I had to try harder and harder to the point where I ended in an unfamiliar territory... I think I've hit my limit though,
any faster and I will find myself in Alien county - definitely a place I don't belong. Those guys are insane the way they slip & slide with precision.

I 2nd that motion rmk, JK keep it up homie, we are all rooting for you and i see an old friend Z06fun up there as well. GO get'm Gents. i cant get better then a 22 so far but i'll be darned if i dont get to a 21 but the end of this competition. Personal goal to be in the top 1000 (regional)

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Thanks Mopar!

Keep going at it with those goals, I'll be rooting for you too!
I've had several goals throughout this thing, and when rmk posted his 2'19.1xx I thought I was never going to beat that... then after several tries with lots of cursing I ended up inside the top 100, which is now my current goal to stay in the top 100.

Keep going at it with those goals, I'll be rooting for you too!
I've had several goals throughout this thing, and when rmk posted his 2'19.1xx I thought I was never going to beat that... then after several tries with lots of cursing I ended up inside the top 100, which is now my current goal to stay in the top 100.

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homeslice it is an honor to have raced with you over these years now (or atleast it feels like ive known you forever). im getting ready to jump and you are my motivation. once i achieve that goal i'll die a happy man. keep it up homie, alien county may not be your place but you can always have a vacation house there and your home in normal county hahaha!! :sBo_crazyjump:

The Online Qualifiers are now over. The world's best time of 2:16.334 was set by Ti-tech85 from France, second was Spain's migueel659444 eight-hundredths behind, and third was IMMORTALPILOT from Germany, a further tenth behind.

The highest ranking TPRA driver (on my Friend's List at least) was z06fun in 68th place with a time of 2:17.166. Then came redsoxboy80 with a 2:18.040 in 482nd place. Third was jkmayol with a time of 2:18.197, putting him in 599th place. In total, 47 people on my Friends List took part in GT Academy 2013. I'm sure others will have more.

However, zo6fun is second overall in the US and will be moving on to the next stage of the competition! Congrats!!

Personally, I only did one lap on my first try and ended up with a 2:24.014. I guess I should've gone back and improved it!

Of course, this is at the regional stage at the moment, so the winners from each region will congregate and move on. In terms of the UK, Spurgy777 was the fastest with a time of 2:16.655, then came BanditKarter-22 with a 2:16.702, third was GTP_Tidgney with a time of 2:16.858.

Oh and there's an extra challenge now available using the same car Kaz drove in this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours - the GT-R NISMO GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport ’13. You can find it under the 'GT 15th Anniversary Celebration' section in the 'Special Events' section. Have fun! :sHa_thumb2: